Hangin' with Dad

When I was just a young man,before I was old enough to drive myself,I would  ride with Dad. This was usually on a weekend and was somewhat of a special event. Dad was always working and didn't play with us kids very often. Too Busy ! Any time you got to spend alone with him was " special." At the time I never realized just how special.

We would take stuff to the dump. That's what we called called it back then,the dump,now it's a landfill. Really it was just a big hole in the ground. You would back up to the edge and just throw whatever you had in there. No separating or recycling going on there. Sometimes Dad would borrow his brothers four wheel drive truck and we would drive to the bottom of that pit. Putting it into four wheel drive Dad would attempt to scale the near vertical wall on the back side. Felt like the truck would flip over backwards ! Fun stuff.

This was long before 4-wheeling was a popular thing to do.

Other times we would just go visiting. Dad would stop at my Uncles place or a co-worker to just shoot the breeze. A beer or two would be consumed and off to the next place. He would go look at boats,cars,airplanes or just about anything being built or fixed. Sometimes offering advice and at others saying little; At least not until after we left. Then I would hear about what that person was doing wrong. Why that's no way to caulk a seam, Bub. You have to drive that oakum in deep. He is painting that all wrong. Your brush strokes should always end in what you just painted,not away from it. It will be full of streaks. I would hear all about it.

Dad knew every road,paved and unpaved in town. We would go all sorts of directions. Sometimes he let me steer the car. I would sit on his lap and steer while he worked the pedals. I vividly remember steering a 56 Cadillac. I remember him just a hollerin', stay on the road. Fun times.

The thing with Dad was,he was fun to hang out with, but not so much fun to work with. He was a stern taskmaster and demanded perfection. He always assumed you knew everything that he did. He worked long and hard. No taking breaks with that guy ! I spent more time working with him than I ever did just hanging out. That's a shame too. As I got old enough to appreciate this man I was no longer around him. I was in the Navy. His health began a slow decline and he moved to Florida. Then he was gone. I'll see him again some day and we will just hang out,I'm sure of it. I don't think there is much work to be done in heaven ! By now he has got it all done anyway and probably hangin' with Jesus and giving him advice on just how to do it right.